|
 Huge task: Reversing the poor public perception on DILG when in comes to fighting corruption is the first order of the day of Secretary Jesse Robredo. Photo courtesy of www.sugod.com While he has been assiduous with all his senior appointments, President Benigno Aquino III was especially careful when it came to the person who would head up the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
It is after all the DILG which has to channel his transparency agenda from the national to the local level and down to the grassroots. Aquino essentially led the department himself for several weeks before designating former Naga City mayor Jesse Robredo as its chief.
The DILG has the Local Government Units (LGUs) as its main clientele. The LGUs are subdivided into 81 provinces, 136 cities, 1,495 municipalities and 42,008 barangays as of December 31, 2008.
The LGUs are grouped into seventeen regions based on their geographical locations. The DILG exercises general supervision in the provinces and cities of 16 regions. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is not part of the general supervision function of the DILG.
Aside from the LGUs, the DILG is also responsible for the Philippine National Police, National Police Commission, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Public Safety College and the Local Government Academy, which coordinates with the governors and mayors.
First stop: DILG
Robredo’s first job is to reverse the public perception of his department. A Social Weather Station survey in 2008 showed that the DILG was viewed as being poor in its sincerity in fighting or preventing corruption.
In his first week in the office, Robredo maximized the potential of the DILG website and tapped it as a vital tool to promote transparency. The public can now see here the current budget and status of funds of the Office of the Secretary and all the DILG agencies.
Robredo says the publication of the department’s budget is not only to ensure transparency in all transactions and to adhere to the constitutional provision of the public’s right to information -but it essentially aims to encourage the public to participate in governance by giving feedback.
“We would like to give back to the public what is due them, hence, this effort of publishing our budget is our way of eliciting their views on how we can efficiently channel our remaining balance on programs and projects that would benefit them the most,” he says.
DILG Financial Management Service Director Ester Aldana says that based on the data posted in the website, allotments received by the department as of June 30, 2010 are as follows:
The Office of the Secretary – PhP 2,497,574,241.72; Philippine National Police (PNP) – PhP 63,767,678,617.06; National Police Commission – PhP 1,326,799,658.25; Bureau of Fire Protection BFP – PhP 6,943,247,018.90; Bureau of Jail Management and Penology PhP 4,374,274,415.00; Philippine Public Safety College – PhP 940,035,315.00 and the Local Government Academy – PhP 69,976,000.00.
Aside from the budget of the DILG and its attached agencies, pertinent information on the department’s procurements, bidding and other important data is next to be uploaded to the website.
The DILG has also installed an interactive feature - the Public Assistance Desk, wherein the general public can e-mail their queries or report important information or complaints concerning the Department and its attached agencies.
Realizing the power of text messaging, it also institutionalized another feedback mechanism that is Text DILG (“DILG [space] name [optional] [space] message”), wherein the public can text their important messages and queries to 2256 for Globe/Smart/Sun subscribers.
Bringing in LGUs
Robredo says prior to DILG, he had already institutionalized the practice of publishing government funds for public access in Naga City in Bicol where he served as its chief executive for 18 years. Under his leadership and as reported on the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project, Naga City was transformed from a sleepy third-class city to one of the most dynamic and progressive cities in the country.
To bring all other LGUs to the transparency thrust of the DILG, it has prepared a draft circular that will require all LGUs to fully disclose all its financial transactions -- annual budgets, income, expenditures, procurement plans, bids, winning bidders, contracts, and loans -- through publishing these on a website or by simply posting these documents on bulletin boards or in conspicuous places within the buildings in the locality.
The circular is simply a replication of the Local Government Code of 1991 ((Republic Act 7160) that some LGUs are cautious to comply.
The draft is now being passed around to mayors and governors for consultation. “So far, I haven’t received any form of resistance from local chief executives,” says Robredo.
He adds that he will also ask the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the League of Cities of the Philippines, and the League of Provinces of the Philippines to come up with joint resolution supporting the DILG’s move.
“LGUs will avoid this disclosure policy if they could, but this is what the people want. We will use this clamor as an instrument against non-compliance.”
He expects that in its initial stage, at least 50 per cent of the LGUs would comply.
The DILG also aims to tap non-government organizations to help it in the capacity-building on the ground – just as Robredo did while mayor of Naga City.
Making IRA transparent
The circular is also seen to make mayors and governors transparent in dispensing with their billions via the internal revenue allotment (IRA). PhP 266 billion (USD 6 billion) is allotted as the IRA of local government units all over the country in 2010.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, a former governor, says local executives are enjoying “wide latitude of discretion” in spending their IRA.
According to Section 284 of the Local Government Code, the IRA represents the share of LGUs from the revenues of the national government to assist them in delivering basic services and to fund their operational expenses.
The IRA, considered as the lifeblood of LGUs, is largely based on land area and population.
Evardone says just like the lawmakers’ priority development assistance fund (PDAF) or the so-called pork barrel, there must also be mechanisms to ensure that the IRA is spent according to the people’s needs like health, education, and other social services.
“The DBM (Department of Budget and Management) should rationalize the use of the PhP 266-billion IRA of LGUs to make its use more transparent and responsive to the needs of our people,” Evardone says.
Expressions of support
Even before the circular is drafted, Robredo has already gathered commitments of support from some local chief executives.
The League of Cities of the Philippines is one of them. Its president, Mayor Oscar Rodriguez of San Fernando City in Pampanga, has called on his fellow city mayors to fall in line and support the President’s anti-corruption drive.
After getting President Aquino’s endorsement, Rodriguez was unanimously elected as the league’s ninth president in July.
“Everyone must share in our governance,” he says, adding that transparency in governance is key for the nation’s progress.
Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado throws in his support too for the DILG’s transparency program. In fact, he says, he has started publishing financial documents on the province’s official website a few years back.
“People are naturally curious when it comes to public funds. So, it’s best that they can freely access information on how their money is spent,” Mercado told the Philippine Transparency Reporting Project.
“It puts me on the safe side of the fence too,” he added.
Obviously, it’s a good start for the DILG in keeping the ball rolling. But with its limited mandate, the challenge stays with President Aquino on how Malacanang will bring into its transparency fold the ARMM where high levels of poverty are partly or largely blamed on serious problems with corruption. Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project
(The author is a senior correspondent of the GMA Network Inc.)
|
PPTRP holds 10th budget reporting training in Bohol June 30
PPTRP holds 9th budget transparency reporting training in Kidapawan City June 6
PPTRP-supported Local Transparency Groups Share Experiences in Reporting, Fighting Corruption
PPTRP holds 7th budget reporting training in Davao City May 27
PPTRP holds 6th budget transparency reporting in Dipolog City May 23
PPTRP meets with editors and columnists May 18 to discuss media coverage of public corruption
PPTRP meets NBN ZTE scam whistle blower Rodolfo Lozada May 9
PPTRP holds 5th budget reporting training in Ozamiz City April 26
PPTRP holds 4th training on budget reporting in CDO April 2
What's wrong with these photos (apart from the blocked out bits)? 
